Difficulty losing weight -pcos

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-to-lose-weight-with-pcos#TOC_TITLE_HDR_9

https://www.verywellhealth.com/pcos-and-weight-loss-why-it-is-so-hard-2616492

Speakeasy76 wrote: »

scarlett_k wrote: »

Sorry to say but it's not harder to lose weight with PCOS; the principle is the exact same - eat fewer calories than you use. I'm almost 50kg down and had PCOS when I started. It's all but gone now I've lost that weight. 2 pounds in a month is good going. Just keep chipping away slowly like that and it all adds up.

I don't have PCOS, but do you have proof that PCOS can't negatively mpact weight loss attempts as opposed to someone who doesn't have it, or are you just going by you own example? It's awesome that you've been able to do with PCOS and should be an inspiration,but I don't think it's fair to say that it isn't harder for others who have it to lose weight.

I see this happen a lot: because one person didn't experience a sid effect of XYZ, then it must not be possible for others to do so.

Quite a few people with PCOS say that their base metabolic rate is lower than of other people. If this is true (I'm sure someone can chip in with actual research) then CITO still holds true and you can still lose weight. Possibly a bit slower. Or by increasing your activity.

Speakeasy76 wrote: »

yirara wrote: »

Speakeasy76 wrote: »

scarlett_k wrote: »

Sorry to say but it's not harder to lose weight with PCOS; the principle is the exact same - eat fewer calories than you use. I'm almost 50kg down and had PCOS when I started. It's all but gone now I've lost that weight. 2 pounds in a month is good going. Just keep chipping away slowly like that and it all adds up.

I don't have PCOS, but do you have proof that PCOS can't negatively mpact weight loss attempts as opposed to someone who doesn't have it, or are you just going by you own example? It's awesome that you've been able to do with PCOS and should be an inspiration,but I don't think it's fair to say that it isn't harder for others who have it to lose weight.

I see this happen a lot: because one person didn't experience a sid effect of XYZ, then it must not be possible for others to do so.

Quite a few people with PCOS say that their base metabolic rate is lower than of other people. If this is true (I'm sure someone can chip in with actual research) then CITO still holds true and you can still lose weight. Possibly a bit slower. Or by increasing your activity.

Yes, but there are factors related to PCOS like insulin resistance and excess androgen production that can make it more difficult than someone who doesn't have it. It's not impossible, but from what I've read it takes more careful work than an otherwise healthy person without it.

Could it be harder with PCOS, or some other condition that generally is regarded as making it more challenging to lose weight? It could. Is weight loss harder for lots of people for lots of reasons? Yes, probably.

As a practical matter, for me as an individual, it doesn't matter. "But it's so unfair" or "It's so hard" is kind of beside the point, IMO. Now, I don't have PCOS. I'm sure it truly is hard (though the reports above suggest it's harder for some people than others, so the hard is apparently not universal doom, even in the affected group). I do have aging, menopause, severe hypothyroidism (treated), arthritis and I forget whatever other things that people sometimes say make fitness and weight management hard. It doesn't matter. Thinking about it mattering is a waste of my time and energy.

I often say that one of the wisest signs in the whole world is one you see all over the place. It says "you are here". We may not be where we'd like to be, where it would be easy to be, where it would feel fair to be, or anything else. We are *here*, and it's the only place we can start from, to go someplace different.

There are different ways to think of obstacles. I feel like the most productive way is to think of them, as much as possible, only to the extent necessary to figure out how to get around, over, or otherwise past them. The other possibilities seem to be allowing them to be a reason to feel bad emotionally, or to become an excuse for giving up.

I grant that some obstacles are insurmountable. If I'm permanently paralyzed, I won't be a successful triathlete. (At that point, there's no point in lamenting the unreachability of the goal, either; it's just time to pick a different goal.) Generally, the things that make it harder to lose weight compared to (some) others (who probably have their own issues, mostly), are not insurmountable obstacles.

OP is losing weight, albeit slowly. Other than mentioning PCOS, it doesn't *sound* much different from other posts we see here talking about how a person finds it difficult to lose weight, or is losing slowly or not at all. PCOS could be part or all of the issue, but so could all the other factors that apply to such a post when the person doesn't have PCOS. In that context, I think it makes sense for others to chime in to say "PCOS isn't universal doom to weight loss, because I was able to lose weight with PCOS". Thinking a thing is universal doom to weight loss is in itself an obstacle, because the person may not look past that presumed cause to consider other causes or strategies.

scarlett_k wrote: »

Speakeasy76 wrote: »

scarlett_k wrote: »

Sorry to say but it's not harder to lose weight with PCOS; the principle is the exact same - eat fewer calories than you use. I'm almost 50kg down and had PCOS when I started. It's all but gone now I've lost that weight. 2 pounds in a month is good going. Just keep chipping away slowly like that and it all adds up.

I don't have PCOS, but do you have proof that PCOS can't negatively mpact weight loss attempts as opposed to someone who doesn't have it, or are you just going by you own example? It's awesome that you've been able to do with PCOS and should be an inspiration,but I don't think it's fair to say that it isn't harder for others who have it to lose weight.

I see this happen a lot: because one person didn't experience a sid effect of XYZ, then it must not be possible for others to do so.

What proof would you like exactly, beyond the laws of physics? A calorie is a calorie is a calorie, whether one has PCOS or not, ergo weight loss is not harder whether one has PCOS or not.

It’s called Insulin Resistance? Our bodies are not calculators you know. We have things called hormones.

AnnPT77 wrote: »

Speakeasy76 wrote: »

yirara wrote: »

Speakeasy76 wrote: »

scarlett_k wrote: »

Sorry to say but it's not harder to lose weight with PCOS; the principle is the exact same - eat fewer calories than you use. I'm almost 50kg down and had PCOS when I started. It's all but gone now I've lost that weight. 2 pounds in a month is good going. Just keep chipping away slowly like that and it all adds up.

I don't have PCOS, but do you have proof that PCOS can't negatively mpact weight loss attempts as opposed to someone who doesn't have it, or are you just going by you own example? It's awesome that you've been able to do with PCOS and should be an inspiration,but I don't think it's fair to say that it isn't harder for others who have it to lose weight.

I see this happen a lot: because one person didn't experience a sid effect of XYZ, then it must not be possible for others to do so.

Quite a few people with PCOS say that their base metabolic rate is lower than of other people. If this is true (I'm sure someone can chip in with actual research) then CITO still holds true and you can still lose weight. Possibly a bit slower. Or by increasing your activity.

Yes, but there are factors related to PCOS like insulin resistance and excess androgen production that can make it more difficult than someone who doesn't have it. It's not impossible, but from what I've read it takes more careful work than an otherwise healthy person without it.

Could it be harder with PCOS, or some other condition that generally is regarded as making it more challenging to lose weight? It could. Is weight loss harder for lots of people for lots of reasons? Yes, probably.

As a practical matter, for me as an individual, it doesn't matter. "But it's so unfair" or "It's so hard" is kind of beside the point, IMO. Now, I don't have PCOS. I'm sure it truly is hard (though the reports above suggest it's harder for some people than others, so the hard is apparently not universal doom, even in the affected group). I do have aging, menopause, severe hypothyroidism (treated), arthritis and I forget whatever other things that people sometimes say make fitness and weight management hard. It doesn't matter. Thinking about it mattering is a waste of my time and energy.

I often say that one of the wisest signs in the whole world is one you see all over the place. It says "you are here". We may not be where we'd like to be, where it would be easy to be, where it would feel fair to be, or anything else. We are *here*, and it's the only place we can start from, to go someplace different.

There are different ways to think of obstacles. I feel like the most productive way is to think of them, as much as possible, only to the extent necessary to figure out how to get around, over, or otherwise past them. The other possibilities seem to be allowing them to be a reason to feel bad emotionally, or to become an excuse for giving up.

I grant that some obstacles are insurmountable. If I'm permanently paralyzed, I won't be a successful triathlete. (At that point, there's no point in lamenting the unreachability of the goal, either; it's just time to pick a different goal.) Generally, the things that make it harder to lose weight compared to (some) others (who probably have their own issues, mostly), are not insurmountable obstacles.

OP is losing weight, albeit slowly. Other than mentioning PCOS, it doesn't *sound* much different from other posts we see here talking about how a person finds it difficult to lose weight, or is losing slowly or not at all. PCOS could be part or all of the issue, but so could all the other factors that apply to such a post when the person doesn't have PCOS. In that context, I think it makes sense for others to chime in to say "PCOS isn't universal doom to weight loss, because I was able to lose weight with PCOS". Thinking a thing is universal doom to weight loss is in itself an obstacle, because the person may not look past that presumed cause to consider other causes or strategies.

I definitely agree with you in that one shouldn't get hung up on obstacles that she may have that may make her journey to whatever it is she's trying to accomplish more challenging than one who doesn't have those same obstacles. However, I do think it's perfectly acceptable to acknowledge those difficulties, educate oneself on them and learn how to address them or make the necessary adaptations in order to reach those goals (which I don't think you were saying not to do). I also think it's okay when people feel sorry for themselves or tell themselves "this sucks!"-- as long as they don't get stuck there and are able to move on from that. I think when we don't acknowledge those "this sucks" feelings and just try to pretend they're not there, we can cause more issues down the road. I don't think this is what you're saying, but just my thoughts on it.


I think what I see when people don't acknowledge that those obstacles may be there and that yes, it can suck at times, is that it invalidates that person's feelings and experiences. I know that is not what most people are doing intentionally and really are trying to help this person. From reading her post, it seemed like she was also looking for people who also have PCOS with whom she could commensurate, as well as get some advice. I guess I may be a bit more sensitive to this because of my work. I often hear parents of kids with special needs say that they really hate it when people try do dismiss their concerns or tell them "it's not that bad" or "Everything will be ok." Sometimes, they just want people to acknowledge that there's some validity in what they are saying. Again, I know people don't mean any ill will when they tell people those kinds of things and really are trying to help, I'm just sharing my experience. I guess it's kind of a "trigger" for me.

I'm also a big believer in the difference between using a disease or disorder as an excuse vs. using it as an explanation for why some things may be more challenging. I know this really has nothing to do with the OP's issue, but another reason why hearing people say something isn't more difficult (when it actually may be) is my experience with my son. Despite being "bright," may son has some learning/executive function challenges that in fact do make some things more difficult, despite doing well on tests. These have been identified through extensive testing. Anyway, in no way do I let these challenges excuse him for things, but I have to educate myself and husband, his teachers and even himself so we can accommodate him. I also let him know from a young age WHY he was struggling, but that it didn't mean he couldn't do the same things. It just might take him longer (which it does--he has slow processing speed), but that he could still do it.

Ironically, my bff just told me she has PCOS. Now, she is obese and has been overweight as long as I've known her (age 13). She doesn't eat well and also has the negative influence of genetics and family history--her dad was morbidly obese and passed away at age 43. In telling me this diagnosis, she said that explained why she always had trouble losing weight. She actually had liposuction in her late 20's, but regained it all back plus more. Now, I was thinking that the fact that she eats like crap (she would tell you this) and generally sedentary lifestyle probably is the biggest influence on her weight by far, but I can't discount that her having PCOS and genetic influences don't make her ability to lose weight more difficult than my own were--especially in her stomach area (which has always been her "problem area."). I do see her using it more as an excuse to not try, though, as opposed to an explanation.

I do have PCOS.

I lose weight at exactly the rate the calorie calculator expects me to - a half pound a week when I'm in a 250 calorie deficit right now at needing a few pounds to be at goal/healthy weight. Previously a pound and a half (when obese) or a pound (when overweight but more than I am now) per week. I also eat plenty of carbs (about 50% of my calories come from them). I have, in fact, had to increase my activity level over the course of weight loss since my last 'diet break' I KEPT LOSING because my TDEE had increased with increased NEAT and muscle.

Now, my fat is primarily SMACK AROUND MY STOMACH which I find kind of frustrating and unattractive, and it means my periods can be kind of hellish (or that could be peri-menopause) and that leads to some unpredictable weight fluctuations re: water retention and loss, but it has impacted my ability to lose fat exactly zero.

My psychology and habits? Yeah those make it harder but you know. Everyone has habits and psychological stuff around food or we *wouldn't be fat*. It's hard. The whole thing is hard. PCOS can make LIFE hard.

But it doesn't make fat loss impossible or even particularly harder if you can learn to deal with scale fluctuations. Which may be hard. But because of psychological stuff which... again we all have or WE WOULD NOT BE FAT.